The Expanding Sea

Georgia natives San Agustin (David Daniell, guitar; Andrew Burnes, guitar; Bryan Fielden, drums) have performed with a multitude of notables from the improvised community, including Ken Vandermark, Thurston Moore, Loren MazzaCane and others, but this boxed set is the first truly representative document of their live presence. Haunting moments of introspection are enveloped in clouds of bluesy guitar notes, then swept away by great electric gales; drones rumble and shimmer in the aftermath. The Expanding Sea is a vast work by a tremendous ensemble, one that is discreetly creating a genre-defying yet archetypically American music.
[San Agustin] works in suspended slow-motion patterns that revolve around simple resonating phrases, like a rock trio stripped of all content — just leaving a bare skeleton of tone traces behind. The beauty is in its strict restraint; unlike many improvising trios, the group never heads off into chaos, with every piece a tamed and trimmed exercise in controlled feedback and subtle cymbal chimes. Bridging post-rock and avant-garde on one axis, and on the other retaining a strict adherence to rock tradition, the feel is of a familiar austerity that calls to mind the chilling moments of Sonic Youth's first album.